South likes: 9 artists at MIT List, Cambridge, MA

South likes: 9 artists at MIT List, Cambridge, MA
9 artists
MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.
9 May – 13 July, 2014

Text by Angeliki Roussou

“9 Artists” is the title of an exhibition that reflects on the role of the artist in the current global condition. The the nine participating artists are Yael Bartana, Liam Gillick, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Renzo Martens, Bjarne Melgaard, Nástio Mosquito, Hito Steyerl, and Danh Vo. Little room for doubt here, that this is a bold endeavour on behalf of curator Ryan Bartholomew (assistant curator at the Walker Art Center). Premiering at the Walker Art Center and later moving to the MIT List Center for Visual Arts, “9 artists” resurfaces a sensitive and widely discussed matter—the position of the artist as subject within a complex and shifting society. Indeed, the selected practices of the more or less acclaimed artists radically interrogate the conditions of artistic production. There seems to be a focus on post-2008 works possibly leaving aside some more relevant works, but only to place the emphasis on the current global order. The sensitivity of the issue could not but demand discursiveness. All the participating artists have contributed with written material for the catalogue which also includes essays by theorists and a contextualisation by the curator. However, even though extensive discourse is conducted also by means of parallel discussions and lectures, for some reason, this list of “9 artists” seems slightly too central or keynote to tackle relevantly the tendencies and complexities of contemporary artistic labour.

http://listart.mit.edu/exhibitions/9-artists